Toasted Sesame Chocolate Muffins + Kumquat Curd

Y'all. My mom and step-dad recently moved into this house that has a cute little kumquat tree in the backyard and this thing has just exploded with kumquats. She gave me a ton of them last week and I've finally stopped twerking long enough to do something with them.

Kumquats are kind of a weird fruit and honestly it seems like no one really gives a crap about them, but having just adopted a small child's worth of quats, I'm really digging them right now. They're obviously a citrus, but taste more like a hybrid between a tiny bitter orange and a Japanese plum. They're annoying to eat because they have massive seeds, but the sweet flesh makes it worth the struggle. My first thought when receiving the kumquats was "yaaaas, I'll make a curd." So I did. Eating a curd by spoon is delicious but also kind of weird. *cue muffin recipe development*

I've been having some mad chocolate cravings lately so I made chocolate muffins and then pumped them with this curd to create a chocolatey-citrus kumquatsplosion. Kumquats originated in East Asia and keeping in line with that flavor palate I included some toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds in the muffin batter. It gives it a nice nutty flavor while still allowing for the chocolate deliciousness to come through.

Also, yeah they're muffins, but they're chocolate muffins, so these make a great dessert as well as a sugary breakfast.

KUMQUAT CURD

What:

2 lbs kumquats, juiced

1 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" cubes

How:

Fill a small saucepan half-way with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat

In a metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth, about one minute

Whisk in kumquat juice to combine

Reduce heat under the saucepan to low and set the metal bowl on top of the saucepan (the water should be low enough to where it is not actually touching the bowl, you just want the heat from the steam)

Whisk constantly until thickened and slightly pale in color, about eight minutes. I would actually recommend using an immersion blender for this part if you have one.

Immediately remove from heat and stir in butter piece-by-piece, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next

Once all butter has been added, transfer to your storage container and wrap in plastic wrap, chill for at least two hours, but it will last for up to a week

TOASTED SESAME CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

What:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Zest of two oranges

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 cup toasted sesame oil

1 cup sour cream

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup sesame seeds (sprinkled on top of muffins before they are baked)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, sesame oil, egg and vanilla

Stir into chocolate mix and add zest, mix to combine

Pour into prepared muffins tins

Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of muffins

Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes at 350*, or until a toothpick comes out clean

Assembly:

Once muffins have cooled completely, take a small serrated knife or spoon and dig a hole in the muffins about 1" deep and 1/2" in diameter, making sure there is at least 1/2" between the bottom of the hole and the bottom of the muffin

Place curd into a zip top bag or piping bag and squeeze into the holes you made